ECLAC and institutions linked to territorial development in Latin America held an international seminar on the impact of digital technologies on agro-industrial processes

This Tuesday, September 27, the international seminar was held: “Digital hubs and economic and social coordination of rural territories and agro-industrial chains”, organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), together with the National Planning Department of Colombia (DNP), the Ibero-American Network for the Digitalization of Agriculture and Livestock (RIDAG), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Platform for Climate Action in Agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean (PLACA) of the FAO, the Office of Agrarian Studies and Policies (ODEPA) and the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile.

The virtual space was carried out within the framework of the Territorial Facility project coordinated by ECLAC, with the support and financing of the European Union, and was aimed at reflecting on digital technologies as tools to promote innovation and the improvement of productive processes through level of companies, chains and territories, in order to prepare for the post-pandemic stage and contribute to accelerating the digitalization process of the regional agri-food system and consolidating new, more inclusive, efficient and sustainable models of productive development.

The meeting was welcomed by the Chief of the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC, Jeannette Sánchez, who thanked the event and explained that they are working with various institutions linked to territorial digitalization, to support with technical assistance and knowledge to rural territories, agribusiness chains, agricultural extension programs and generate synergies and collaboration networks with companies, producers, clusters and other strategic actors.

Meanwhile, Federico Bert, IICA consultant, in charge of the Digital Transformation of Agriculture Program, pointed out that it is essential to minimize the possible negative impacts of digital transformation on agribusiness, while Lina Marcela Carrera, Technical Secretary of the Regional Commission of Competitiveness and Innovation of Huila, commented on the joint work that has been carried out with ECLAC and the support of the DNP in Colombia, to promote opportunities for productive development in Huila and reinforce the strategic proposal of the government that has been called: “Huila District of the innovation”.

In this regard, from FAO, the Territorial Development Policy Officer, Luiz Beduschi, assured that this seminar is an opportunity to support knowledge and exchange of experiences, in the midst of the post-pandemic and the acceleration of digital transformation in agri-food systems, so that they can become more inclusive, efficient, resilient and sustainable.

The second space of the seminar was a round table, moderated by Agusti Font, Coordinator of the RIDAG, and in which the creation of territorial hubs in different Latin American countries was addressed. In the case of Chile, the presentation of a territorial hub in the region of Arica and Parinacota, was in charge of Marcela Aedo, ECLAC consultant, while the case of Patagonia Hub, in the region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica , was presented by the governor of this region, Jorge Flies. In the case of Ecuador, the experience of implementing territorial digital centers in Cotopaxi was presented by Eduardo Ramírez, Coordinator of the FAO Investment & Development Working Group and the 1000 Digital Villages Initiative. The creation of territorial hubs in Spain was also addressed, in particular the experience of Andalucía Agrotech, by Francisco de Paula Rodríguez García, Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Junta de Andalucía. Finally, it was the turn of the United States, who presented the experience of the Central Appalachian Network, led by Andrew Crosson, CEO of Investment Appalachia. In this way, it was possible to compare the different achievements and difficulties from the perspective of representatives and institutions that have been implementing these processes.

In this regard, some of the development phases and impact levels of these collaboration networks were detailed, emphasizing improving coordination between small farmers and businesses with larger markets and industries, as well as the possibility of strengthening opportunities and digital skills of inhabitants of territories far from large cities. In this sense, one of the topics that generated synergies between the panelists was the possibility of having intermediaries in digital innovation, so that by transferring knowledge and technical support to rural territories, there are different levels of training and implementation of digital technologies, so that no one is left out of this type of tool.

In this sense, all the experiences exposed in the seminar have been promoting the development of digital hubs as tools to promote innovation, through differentiated strategies that adapt to the potential of the different territories. Thus, for example, in the Appalachian Network the emphasis is placed on the connection and communication between the different communities that live in a wide geographical area; while, in the Magallanes region, the Patagonia Hub is related to frontier innovation programs, promoted by the regional government in green hydrogen, gene reserve bank and research in the Antarctic region.

In the case of the Territorial Hub Arica and Parinacota, the objective is to constitute a community of public and private actors interacting and collaborating in the generation of a favorable and sustainable environment for the development of productive activities in digital platform services. This hub, in particular, gave priority to three fundamental productive sectors for the territory: agriculture, tourism and energy.

In the case of the experiences in Cotopaxi, Ecuador, the challenge has been to build appropriate digital solutions and services for small producers in rural areas, seeking their presence in new markets and local partners that allow them to provide and promote strategies and knowledge for the digital marketing and digital finance services.

Finally, in the case of Agrotech de Andalucía, Spain, efforts have focused on the coordinated promotion of services for innovation in the agri-food chain, networking and coordinating the skills of the different institutions that support the sector.

Regarding the difficulties that the processes of incorporating digital technologies in rural territories and agro-industrial chains have had to face, some of them are the lack of digital skills in the territories, the deep gaps in access and connectivity, and the scarce participation of small farmers in the markets. These weaknesses have been accentuating in some territories due to the scant inter-institutional coordination that exists in some countries and the excessive centralization in decision-making.

However, the generation of collective strategies promoted by the different local actors has made it possible to value local capacities and build development paths that have been enhanced with the application of digital technologies. The debate showed that to achieve these results it is necessary for the digital hub to converge with the development policies that the regional authorities promote at the territorial level; that there is public-private governance that sustains collective action; that technologies and work modalities be adopted that adjust to the specificities of the territory considered.

For the proper functioning of the digital hub platforms, the formation of a stable professional team that has communicators who play the role of animators of the virtual community and technicians who support the development of content is key.

This seminar is part of the joint work carried out by ECLAC, FAO and IICA with other regional organizations such as RIDAG, the Platform for Climate Action in Agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean of FAO, the Latin American Network of Rural Extension Services (RELASER) and the Regional Cooperative Program for the Technological Development and Modernization of Coffee (PROMECAFÉ), as well as with private entities that seek to strengthen their digital systems, such as the Think Tank Cocoa Foundation of Ecuador and ICAFE of Costa Rica.